“It was.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s just . . .”

“What?”

“It felt like it went on all night.”

Tessa shrugged. “Don’t all dreams feel like that? Even when they’re, like, five minutes long?”

“Yeah. I guess.”

“Do you want me to come back?”

“No, no. I’m fine.” Chloe pressed her hands against the bed and pushed herself up. She stared at Tessa a moment. “What’s wrong?”

“We have a slight problem.”

Chloe snorted. “The Crows never have a slight problem.”

Yeah. That was very true.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Kera woke up and she felt . . . great. Seriously. She felt strong and healthy and there seemed to be no leftover pain from the fight she’d had the day before. She’d been in fights before. Usually caught in the crossfire between Marines and the locals near a base or between Marines and Navy. And usually the day after, it took everything she had just to get up out of bed. Her entire body was often sore and whatever part of her had been hit or kicked was bruised and in serious need of ice and prescription painkillers.

But today . . . today she felt brand new. She stood and used the mirror attached to Vig’s dresser to look at herself. There were still bruises but they were already fading. The lacerations she’d gotten from the window she’d gone through had mostly healed as well, leaving behind a few scabs that she sensed would be gone completely in another day or two.

Happy she didn’t have to physically suffer for her bad decision making from the day before, Kera eased out of the bedroom and tiptoed past a sleeping Vig. He was still on the couch but he wasn’t alone. Brodie was cuddled up next to him. Kera stopped and gawked at her treacherous dog.

Brodie gazed up at Kera, big maw open, tongue hanging out.

“Comfortable?” Kera whispered. Her dog’s response was to snuggle in closer to Vig. “Whore.”

Kera eased past the very loud screen door, carefully closing it behind her so it didn’t bang shut, and sat down Indian-style on the porch. She looked out over the beautiful territory, enjoying the way the rising sun lit up the trees. She could hear the sounds of the Pacific Ocean nearby, and even the sounds of the ravens above her didn’t take away from that. In fact, she kind of liked their deep-throated squawking.

Kera closed her eyes, settled herself in comfortably, and began her deep breathing.

It was kind of funny that she’d learned meditation in the Marines. Most people didn’t really associate the U.S. military with Buddha, but meditation really helped with the anxiety. And some days, especially when the shelling got bad, Kera would have some real anxiety.

She tried for twice a day, twenty minutes each time, but thatwasn’t always possible. So she settled for first thing in the morning before she started her workday.

But this time, as much as she tried to focus on her breathing, all Kera could think about was that kiss last night. She didn’t know what had possessed her to kiss him, but she was glad she had. It was one of the sweetest kisses she’d ever experienced. Sweet and hot, which was unusual. Kera had found that it was usually one or the other, rarely both. But with Vig, it was both.

Wonderfully both.

After five minutes of thinking about that kiss and getting kind of wet realizing how far it could have gone if she hadn’t been sore, Kera gave up on her morning ritual and opened her eyes.

“I have to go back,” she said to no one. Kera had never backed down from anything—except her crazy mother—and she wasn’t about to start now.

She went into the house, returned to the bedroom, took off Vig’s T-shirt, which she’d worn to bed, and put her clothes back on. In the living room she patted Vig on the arm to wake him up.

“I’ve gotta go,” she whispered, not wanting to jar him so early in the morning.

“Will I see you later?” he asked.

“If you want.”

“I want.”

Kera smiled. “Okay then.”

She stood up straight and looked down at her dog. “Come on, Brodie. Let’s go.”

Brodie stretched her entire body . . . before settling back against Vig.

“Seriously?” Kera demanded.

“She’s comfortable. Leave her.”

“I’m not leaving her. She just needs to get off her lazy ass.” Kera reached over and tapped Brodie’s butt until, with a sigh, the dog slowly dragged herself off Vig. Not that Kera blamed her. He did look very comfortable, even on that too-small couch.

“I can drive you back,” Vig offered.

“I’d rather walk.” She started to leave, but stopped, and leaned down to kiss Vig’s forehead. “Thanks.”

He smiled, even as he was already falling back asleep. “Anytime.”

Kera walked onto the porch, waited for Brodie to take her sweet time, and then gently closed the screen door.

After leashing Brodie up, they set off.

Usually, Kera had to keep a tight grip on Brodie’s leash, ensuring she never got too far ahead. Brodie was a “barreler,” as Kera liked to call it. Barreling forward like the powerful pit bull she was. But for once, Brodie walked right by Kera’s side, keeping pace with Kera’s steps.

They cut out of Raven territory and down to PCH. They walked past tourists and surfers and locals. Kera was going to keep going straight until she reached the dirt road that led to the Bird House, but Brodie suddenly veered off behind a fish restaurant.